Darius Allensworth played in 43 games with 22 starts from 2013-2017 at Cal Berkeley. He contributed 109 tackles along with 6.5 tackles for loss (-41 yards), 2.0 sacks (-10 yards) and three interceptions. He also had one fumble recovery which he returned 37 yards for his lone career touchdown as a 2017 senior.
More Allensworth stats: three forced fumbles, 26 passes defended, and 23 pass breakups over his last four seasons with the Cal program after redshirting as a true freshman in 2013.
Allensworth put up most of his top career numbers as a 2015 sophomore, when he started all 13 games and had several career highs, including a team-high 12 passes defended and 11 pass breakups. He produced a team-high-tying two forced fumbles, 41 tackles, and his first career interception.
Cal takes on USC this week, so we sat down with the former Cal Golden Bear to talk about growing up in Southern California and more.
Trojans Wire: What did growing up in Southern California mean to you during the USC “golden years” of Carroll, Bush and Leinart?
Allensworth: That era made me love football! It looked like they were having so much fun playing under a coach that was one of the first of his kind.
I say that because Pete Carroll was a player’s coach before it was cool to be one in that era.
Trojans Wire: What was your favorite moment in the Cal vs USC series as a player?
Allensworth: I honestly don’t have one, but playing in the Coliseum was cool.
Trojans Wire: Did you ever consider going to USC to be a Trojan?
Allensworth: I did, but Lane Kiffin and his staff couldn’t offer me after I tore my ACL. They only had 13 scholarship offers because of the Reggie Bush rule situation.
[mm-video type=video id=01ggwsj3gcmtgztyjsb4 playlist_id=none player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01ggwsj3gcmtgztyjsb4/01ggwsj3gcmtgztyjsb4-932ef77e4da64eeb99ac9d76744b86a8.jpg]
[listicle id=51202]